When you hear Rico, your mind automatically associates the brand with beginner-level, cheap reeds that most of us started out on. But these Reserves are so unexpected! They are the best reeds that I've played on to date. They articulate easily and improve your tone with the right mouthpiece and make it fun and less stressful to play.If you are playing on the Vandoren V12s and have to do a lot of work to them to get them to sort of play, then give these a try!